Wikis


What is a wiki? It's a webpage that anyone can easily edit. This page is a wiki that I started through wikispaces. Wikis are free, easy, and quick—and require no special knowledge or web authoring tools. The most exciting thing about a wiki is that it provides online space for collaboration. Starting in 2008 we in Bloomington can host wikis on district servers using the new Leopard operating system for the Mac.


Watch Wikis in Plain English (3 minute video) from http://www.commoncraft.com/video-wikis-plain-english

One little warning—any given page of a wiki can only be edited by one person at a time. Teachers must plan wiki projects so students aren't all using the same page at the same time.

All about wikis from Classroom 2.0
For Teachers New to Wikis

Samples
OMS Literature Circle Wikis (Annie Simonett's 7th grade honors language arts classes, 2008)
OMS Country Encyclopedia (Dan Andersen's 8th grade SS wiki-- winter 2008)
Maria Cates - Reading, VVMS - http://mcates.wikispaces.com/Journal_Buddies
Journal Buddies writing about historical fiction books

Salute to Seuss

Ideas for Using for Wikis in Education
  • Student-created study guides
  • Vocabulary lists or glossary of scientific terms
  • Class or school newspaper
  • Collaborative book reviews or author studies
  • Portal for all classroom activities
  • Space for collaboration with students in other parts of the world
  • Create a class encyclopedia or textbook
  • A Math wiki where students share how they use math in "real life"
  • Collaborative story written by a group of writers
  • A collection of recipes
  • Movie, book, or software reviews

Examples of wikis in education
Edublogger nominees for Best Education Wiki 2007

Take a Wiki Walk Through(Notice the Wiki Ideas for the Classroom)

New in the 2008 school year—Bloomington has its own Wiki/Blog server! It should be ready to go in September. Eric Egger in the Technology Department is the contact person. Your media specialist and CTs should be able to help you get started.

Where to get a wiki site started for free (outside the district)